A Dane and Bones Origins Story (The Dane And Bones Origins Series Book 6)

I have enjoyed the other books in the series. But this one was really underwhelming because of poor writing--cliches, too many explanations of terms, using the same phrases over and over, etc. These were novice mistakes an experienced writer should not have been making.

I began reading this story last night and must admit that I am not particularly impressed. On page 2 I ran into a glaring factual error about the historical event this story is supposed to revolve around. The author states "...the plane and its twin Pratt & Whitney turboprop engines..." Seriously? There was not a single airplane on the face of the planet flying with turboprop engines in 1937 (mostly because they hadn't been invented yet).

OK, I should give credit for properly identifying the engine manufacturer, they were indeed Pratt & Whitney engines. While I wouldn't expect the author to state "...the plane and its twin Pratt & Whitney R-1340 Radial engines...", though that would be correct, it would have been perfectly acceptable had he simply left out the word "turboprop".

I know, this is a fictional story and not a history book, but come on, if you're going to base a fictional story on a real historic event, at least get the history right. Or make the whole thing fictional and make up a back story.

I've never read anything else from this author, so I don't know if other works are better or not. Since the story is so short I will probably go ahead and finish it anyway and just hope fact doesn't give way to further factual error as the story unfolds.

Updated 1/2/15

I just finished the book and, as I feared, the factual errors continued and all were easily avoidable (and I grant that I am probably one of only a few for whom such errors detract from a story).

For those interested, other factual errors include the following:

In Chapter 6 the boys are pleased because they found the airplane "Serial Number" on the data plate. Never mind the fact that the data plate is almost certainly not where the author placed it, the number he gives is NR 16020, which is not the airplane's serial number, it is the Commerce Number, what would now be called the Registration Number, or simply "N" Number and almost certainly would not have been on the data plate. It is a number assigned by the government to show that the airplane is properly registered and legal to fly in US Airspace. The Serial Number is assigned by the manufacturer and is indeed on the aircraft data plate. The registration number can be changed by the owner of the airplane, the serial number follows the airplane its whole life. For those interested, the serial number for Amelia Earhart's plane was 1055.

In Chapter 7 one of the characters points out that the airplane doesn't look like a Lockheed 10, but a Lockheed 12 "...which was their largest and fastest plane in the Electra line during that period." This is not even close to true, except for the fact that Lockheed did indeed develop the Model 12 after the Model 10. In fact, the Model 12, nicknamed the Electra Jr. (the guy in the hangar next to mine has one)was smaller than the Model 10. Lockheed did build a larger version, the Model 14 or Super Electra, which didn't even fly for the first time until almost a month after Amelia disappeared.

A less specific difficulty for the plot as written is that the Electra flown by Earhart and Noonan was highly modified. Nearly the entire passenger / cargo compartment was filled with fuel tanks which makes the story as written cumbersome, but not impossible.

While I am a very big fan of historical fiction, I just find it nearly impossible to read stories where the history isn't even close to true.

If you are not bothered by factual errors, or wouldn't know any different either, then this story will be truly entertaining and I hope you enjoy it.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review. This review is for the audio copy of Electra: Dane Maddock Origins, Book 6: by David Wood and Rick Chesler and narrated by Jeffrey Kafer. This book was very entertaining and kept my interest up throughout the entire book. It was a quick read and fun to listen to. There was not a lot of depth of character building but it was not needed. If you need something to fill some time and want to be entertained then this book and probable the series is for you. Jeffrey Kafer did a great job of narrating this book. He is quickly becoming one of my favorite narrators and I find myself looking for books he has narrated. Overall this was a very satisfying enjoyable story.

Electra is an adventure story by David Wood starring Navy Seals Dane Maddock and Uriah “Bones” Bonebrake.

Dane and Bones are at it again, trying to beat a couple of dolphins in a training exercise. Oh, wait, the story is about finding Amelia Earhart’s plane. Our guys are sent undercover to dive for a company that rescues historic aircraft and thinks they have found Earhart’s plane. It’s underwater close to an atoll in the South Pacific. The mission is to confirm if the plane is, in fact, Earhart’s. The reason is because there may be sensitive government items on the plane. One problem, a Japanese company has tried to claim the atoll to build a resort. They were not happy about losing a lawsuit to gain ownership. They take steps to aggressively try to take the atoll.

Filled with humor, conspiracy theories, and action, this story is very entertaining. It’s kind of a lightweight story, but that’s OK, we need those sometimes. The interaction between Dane and Bones is fun and lighthearted but they do get serious when needed. Read it for a little fun. You’ll like it.

Book six has Dane and Bones involved as undercover agents of the government working with a team of civilians who have been hired to validate the find/wreckage of Amelia Earhart's plane. There's plenty of expected and unexpected twists and turns, danger and a new spin on what exactly happened all those years ago. Conspiracy at it's best! I love these characters and so will you!

Dane and Bones are at it again! Electra takes us on an exciting journey to explore the mystery behind the disappearance of Amelia Earhart. The banter between Dane and Bones is as entertaining as ever and David Wood's historical speculation is interesting and thought provoking. Electra is another great novel from two great authors. You can't beat the price and this story is well worth your time!

Dane and Bones are at it again, in another Origins book.
Has Amelia Earharts plane finally been found? It would appear so...Dane and Bones are tasked with infiltrating the salvage team to confiscate items that could be damaging to the US. As usual nothing goes easy for them!
Set in the South Pacific Dane and Bones handle all the ups and downs of their adventure with the usual wise cracking humor.

Another home run for David Wood, these books just whet your appetite and make you want more and more and more...

I liked the way the book covered all the possible explanations of her disapperance, yet left us to make up our own conclusions, if we so desired. Would have enjoyed more flashback to Amelia and what went on in the cave. A good read that does not disappoint

Short but exciting read. Lots of humourous banter between Maddock and Bones, and an interesting story. I'm very much enjoying these early adventures of the duo.

*I was given an advance copy by the author in exchange for an honest review*

Ever wonder what happened to Amelia Earhart and her Electra aircraft? Maddock and Bones are sent on a secret mission to find it and more. Their search leads them to a strange island,many bad guys and a very well trained shark. Don't miss the thrills and fun of this adventure!!

Electra was even better than I had anticipated. I have yet to read any adventure novel from David Wood that wasn't anything, but super fun and fast paced and awesome. Now I am about to start the Jade adventures.